Exploitation of gold in a historic sewage sludge stockpile, Werribee, Australia: resource evaluation, chemical extraction and subsequent utilisation of sludge

Sewage sludges are dewatered end products of human sewage waste and are recognised repositories of organic pollutants and heavy metals. They may be considered targets for economic extraction of Au because of the documented Au content of sewage sludges worldwide which are of the order of some ore deposits currently mined for Au. They are also highly nutrient enriched (nitrogen and phosphorus) and therefore amenable to use as agricultural fertiliser or as covers for mine wastes. The sewage of Melbourne, Australia, a city with a current population of 3.3 million, was stockpiled in large, closed, lagoonal tanks from 1898 until 1980. In 1995 Echidna Mining, an Australian gold exploration company, acquired the exploration rights to the ground surrounding the historic sludge reserves and commenced a program of resource evaluation, utilising RNAA, INAA, GFAAS, ICP–MS and FLAAS to determine 31 elements, including Au, Ag, Sb, As, Cd, Hg, Zn, Cu, and Pb. The study was initiated to determine Au, Ag and other metal variations in both space and time and to investigate the economics of chemical extraction of the precious metals. A total of 149 samples from over 50 hand-auger drillholes to a depth up to 4 m have been analysed from the stockpiles, with Au assays yielding remarkably consistent results. Average grades of 0.77 g/t Au and 18.8 g/t Ag have been documented for a measured resource of 770,000 m³ (of an estimated 1.6–2.5 million m³ contained) at a density of 1.0 g/cm³ and an average moisture content of around 40%. Laboratory-based extractive metallurgy of the Werribee sludges has demonstrated that Au, Ag and Zn can be removed with relative ease by heap-leaching using modified conventional technology, albeit with prohibitive reagent consumption. The extraction of the precious metals also results in the variable removal of contaminant metals such as Cd, As, Sb, Hg and Cr which may render the sludges fit for sale as agricultural fertiliser, provided organic pollutants and pathogenic organisms are below governmental environmental protection limits, an area beyond the scope of this paper. Another potential avenue of the exploitation of sewage sludges is discussed: that of the utilisation of sludges to extract contaminant metals from waste water and contaminated mine waters, which we demonstrate on pure aqueous synthetic samples. This paper presents a study of the exploitation of an historic sludge resource for its contained Au and residue post-metal extraction.     

掏土挤淤在某建筑物纠偏治理中的应用

通过对某倾斜建筑物的纠偏扶正处理,介绍了掏土挤淤纠偏法的作用机理、现场应用过程等,并从技术、经济等角度作了总结。     

碱溶液预降解淤泥有机质的效果与机制讨论

淤泥富含大量有机质,受微生物作用,有机质会逐步分解出腐殖酸;同时,腐殖酸又会影响有机质降解,进而影响淤泥固化效果。为此,通过维持恒定的碱性缓冲溶液环境（pH=9.0）,将淤泥浸泡其中,观测其有机质含量的变化过程。结果表明,碱性缓冲溶液既能加快有机质分解,也能消耗腐殖酸,使溶液保持为碱性状态;当有机质分解完成,腐殖酸也释放结束,降解过程大约持续28 d。通过掺入水泥和石灰固化淤泥,发现含有机质的固化淤泥,其强度随养护时间会先增长后衰减,但预降解有机质的固化淤泥强度不会衰减。由此说明,通过碱性缓冲溶液预降解淤泥有机质,可以提升固化土耐久性。     

Long-term changes in fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (southern Portugal) based on two studies made 20 years apart

Fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (south Portugal) were sampled on a monthly basis with a beach seine at 4 sites, during two different time periods: 1980–1986 and 2001–2002. Community indices, species ranking and multivariate analysis were used in order to identify changes in the fish community between the two time periods. A total of 153,511 fish representing 57 taxa were recorded. Although species composition was very similar for both sampling periods, multivariate analysis performed on annual species abundance in number and weight revealed differences in fish community structure between the two periods. Structural changes in fish community were related mostly to a sharp decrease in the abundance of Mugilidae from 1980–1986 to 2001–2002. These changes were probably associated to a decrease in organic matter contents and nutrients concentrations due to improvements in sewage treatment and better water circulation inside the lagoon. The changes in fish community structure are more evident in the inner areas of the lagoon than near the inlet. The association between changes in sewage patterns and changes in the ichthyofaunal community structure reinforces the importance of fish communities as a biological indicator of human induced changes in marine systems.     

电解盐水杀菌技术在庄大污水处理站的研究应用

次氯酸钠作为消毒剂已在很多行业得到了广泛应用,作为油田污水处理用杀菌剂进行工业性试验还属首次。介绍了电解盐水现场产生次氯酸钠直接用于油田污水杀菌处理的技术原理、特点以及在大港油田庄大污水处理站的应用效果。并对次氯酸钠杀菌的加入浓度,以及对注水设备的腐蚀性进行了研究试验,结果表明次氯酸钠杀菌有很好的连续性,虽然杀菌后的污水腐蚀速率略有增加,但使用是安全的。     

水质处理残渣污泥封堵大孔道技术研究与应用

濮城油田水质改性后,产生大量的水处理污泥残渣,水处理残渣不仅占用大量的土地,同时对环境也造成了危害。为此在室内实验的基础上,对水处理残渣进行了分析,其主要成分为碳酸钙,它具有很好的封堵性。在大量试验的基础上,通过对配方的完善,在调剖上进行了广泛应用,通过45口井的现场试验,取得了较好的效果。将水处理残渣进行水井调剖,不仅解决了对环境的污染,而且取得了明显的经济效益。     

团岛污水处理厂消化污泥强制通风好氧堆肥的研究

采用强制通风堆肥工艺对团岛污水处理厂消化污泥进行堆肥化处理.通风系统采用时间和温度联合自动化控制,在消化污泥和木屑的体积配比为1∶1的情况下,堆肥温度能够顺利地达到设定温度(60 ℃),并维持在3 d以上,堆肥高温使大肠菌群的数量级由107降到102,达到了国家高温堆肥标准.温度、含水率、有机质、pH等参数的监测表明堆肥过程能顺利进行.第41天种子发芽指数达到了93.74%,表明堆肥已消除植物毒性,达到了完全腐熟.     

广东省入海排污口分类分布特征及监督管理措施研究

本研究在广东省现有入海排污口清单的基础上,将入海排污口划分为4类,研究分析了入海排污口的数量、类型和分布情况.研究表明,广东省共有入海排污口1436个,东西两翼数量多于珠三角,区域和地市差异明显.结合广东省近岸海域环境质量状况和排污口分布特征,针对性提出了推进入海排污口规范化设置与备案、分类推进各类排污口污染治理,提升...